Overtures
by Auchen
Summary: Oswald meets with Liza in hopes that he can lure her to his side. But first he must find what drives her. (Oswald/Liza if you squint.)


**A/N:**I'm impatient for these two to meet, so here's my interpretation of what might go down in 1x09. You can also interpret Oswald and Liza's interactions as shippy or not.

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><p>Oswald looked down at his watch. The thugs he had sent to bring Fish's little weapon to him were late. He didn't like lateness, it put him on edge. Certainly he was adaptable, but it was so much nicer when things went exactly according to plan, even down to the minute of the meeting time. He sighed and glanced again to the door of the old abandoned warehouse. It sat bulky and closed.<p>

But his annoyance dissipated when the ancient door whined open and two smudgy figures with another person trailing behind them appeared. He sat up in his chair and laced his fingers. The thugs came in, faces lumpy and frowning as always. Behind them trailed the girl that Timothy had so generously told him about.

Oswald wasn't sure what he had expected her to look like. Something typical of Fish's tastes, perhaps. Someone long legged and narrow, all cheekbones and fluttering eyelashes. But this girl wasn't that. She was all curves and waves, wearing a pink flared dress, looking like she could be from another time. He smiled. Fish's plan was obvious already—she meant to trap Falcone with a sweet young thing that looked like she had stepped out of his youth.

The thugs came to stand behind the girl as she sat down in the chair across the table from him. She sat up straight, holding his gaze with an unreadable expression. He leaned forward with a smile.

"Thank you for coming to our meeting," he said as he inclined his head.

She shrugged. "Well, it isn't as if I had much of a choice, is it?"

"Oh, well, my boys didn't rough you up, did they? I merely asked them to…" he pressed his lips together and waved a hand. "…Suggest that coming with them would be better than trying to resist."

She shook her head. "No, they didn't."

"Good! Now, let's get down to business Miss…?"

"Just Liza," she said.

"Liza." He nodded. "That's a good place to start. I feel as if we're going to be friends, and so it's nice that we're starting out on an informal note."

Liza didn't say anything; she just held her hands beneath the table and waited for him to continue. So, she wasn't going to talk easily. That was fine, he didn't expect her to. He was used to playing the long game anyway.

"Someone told me that Fish has plans to use you to honey trap Falcone so that she can take him down and replace him as Don."

Liza's eyebrows knitted together, and she frowned. "What? I'm just a singer at her nightclub."

He pursed his lips and shook his head. "Oh Liza, I think you're lying to me."

One of the thugs that stood behind her took a step closer. The sound echoed throughout the expanse of the warehouse. Liza didn't flinch, but her eyes widened just a bit, and her throat bobbed. He had to admire that sort of stoicism. Though dangerous in some situations, it had its merits.

Oswald shook his head at the thug. "Oh, come now, no need to frighten her. We brought her here for a chat, not to bully her."

The thug looked at her for a second, his heavyset eyes searing into the side of her head. Liza's eyes briefly flicked to him, and then back to Oswald. The thug took a step back.

Liza closed her eyes for a moment before opening them, and leaning back against the chair, less stiff. She was affecting casualness despite her fear. "Who thought I'm helping Fish bring down Falcone?"

"It doesn't really matter who. Here's another question for you—why do you stay with Fish?" Now _this _was the question that would lead him down all the other avenues he needed to explore. Motivation was everything.

Liza just shrugged and glanced down at her nails. "She takes care of me and gives me a job. She promises me more power in the organization as time moves on."

Ah, power. Ambition was an instrument he knew how to play finely, familiar with how to pluck its strings within a kindred soul that thirsted after power.

Oswald scooted the chair closer to her, and lowered his voice. The table pressed against his stomach. "Does she, though? Or do you stay with her out of fear for what she might do if you cross her?"

Liza held his eyes, and he saw that she was trying to keep her face a blank canvas, not allowing anything to escape through any movements. But her body betrayed her when she pressed her lips together for a moment, and her head wobbled. "Like I said, she takes care of me. She treats me like a daughter."

Oswald let out a sharp laugh. "She said that she would treat me like a son, but then she broke my kneecap and left me for dead. What makes you think that you're any different? She'll chew you up and spit you out if you don't do exactly as she asks or if you don't measure up to her standards."

Liza sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "Look, why did you really bring me here?"

"You're not a woman who likes to dally around." He waved an index finger at her. "I like that. As to why, let me ask one more question."

"All right," Liza said, her attention on him once again.

"Do you care about Falcone? Do you really want to see him dead and Fish in charge? Is that a city you want to live in? Because if you stay with Fish, that's what you're signing up for. Once your job is done, oh, she'll probably reward you and give you a place within the mob for a while. But you'll have no more use to her, and she'll leave you in the dust." He stabbed jabbed a finger in the air at her.

His voice had grown harsh, and his mouth was twisted. Oswald meant to emphasize his words to convince her, but bitterness had unwittingly seeped into his sentences. What Fish had done to him was still a raw wound that could bleed unpredictably.

"So you want me to join you? What could you possibly offer me, and how do I know you wouldn't do what you're saying that Fish would do to me?" Liza leaned forward.

"If you join me, you can rise in the ranks with me. I can guarantee that, because I was in your position once. I didn't want to be part of Fish's plans anymore, and when given an opportunity to better myself, I took it. Why not give someone else the same chance, especially when it benefits me?" Oswald raised his hands with a shrug.

Liza lowered her eyes, quiet. So, he had found the right bait. Anyone could be bought, Oswald found, as long as you found the thing that they hungered for. But he hadn't caught her just yet; she still hesitated at the hook.

"And what _is _in it for you?" Liza asked.

"Well, let's just stay I have a vested interest in Falcone staying alive, and you could provide me with valuable information concerning Fish's plans." He just offered her enough of a peek into his plans to entice her, but not enough so that it would significantly damage his strategy if what he said somehow got back to Fish.

Liza adjusted one of the bracelets on her wrist. "Tell me more."

"I thought you'd never ask," he said, shaking his head.


End file.
